The Surprising Truth About Refrigerating Eggs

Eggs in the US are sold under refrigeration, but that's not the case in many other countries. People who have their own chickens also sometimes leave the eggs outside of the refrigerator until they're ready to cook with them. What's the deal? Do we really need to refrigerate eggs? Here's the breakdown.

As for store-bought eggs in the US, you need to refrigerate them. American egg producers wash eggs to make sure the shells are clean and that there's a decreased risk of salmonella. Thus the protective coating is removed before the eggs arrive in grocery stores. "The USDA requires that eggs destined for supermarket shelves - called graded eggs - are washed and sprayed with a chemical sanitizer before they are sold to the public to reduce the risk of salmonella infection," Business Insider reports. Other countries do not wash their eggs, which is why you'll see them for sale near other unrefrigerated items.